Equality Time

An LDS Gem: Elder Holland's Opus

This past Saturday and Sunday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its 179th Semi-Annual General Conference, at which Latter-day Saints (Mormons) gathered to hear sermons from their ecclesiastical leaders. At the afternoon session held on Sunday October 4, 2009, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered a 16-minute address that quickly became the talk of the 10-hour-long conference.  The text of all General Conference addresses are available at the LDS church's web site.  The text of Elder Holland's address can be found here.  The church web site also makes the talks available in audio and video formats.  After the jump, I embed the talk as it appears on YouTube, in two parts, and then provide my commentary on it.  In sum, Elder Holland's talk is rife with lies and logical fallacies, and relies on emotional and psychological manipulation rather than rational argument to affect his audience.

Apostasy Been Berra Berra Good to Me

The LDS church teaches that people like me, i.e., former members of the church, are destined to be miserable, and that we are in the clutches of Satan.  We are as Judas--traitors who would kill Christ if we could.  This sounds harsh, and indeed it is.  It sounds like one of those old 19th-century teachings (like blood atonement) that the church has swept under the rug.  But, alas, this is one of the old teachings that is still alive and kicking in the modern church.  In the current manual Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, published at the direction of the First Presidency (and the only extra-scriptural material permitted to be used by Priesthood and Relief Society teachers in the church) is found lesson number 27, titled "Beware the Bitter Fruits of Apostasy." From that lesson comes this quote, which is representative of the tenor and thrust of the entire lesson:

[A]postates after turning from the faith of Christ, unless they have speedily repented, have sooner or later fallen into the snares of the wicked one, and have been left destitute of the Spirit of God, to manifest their wickedness in the eyes of multitudes. From apostates the faithful have received the severest persecutions. Judas was rebuked and immediately betrayed his Lord into the hands of His enemies, because Satan entered into him.

There is a superior intelligence bestowed upon such as obey the Gospel with full purpose of heart, which, if sinned against, the apostate is left naked and destitute of the Spirit of God, and he is, in truth, nigh unto cursing, and his end is to be burned. When once that light which was in them is taken from them they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened, and then, no marvel, if all their power should be enlisted against the truth, and they, Judas-like, seek the destruction of those who were their greatest benefactors. . . .

. . .

When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant.

I believe that one reason why active Mormons often choose not to associate at all with former members of the church is that they actually believe that former members are possessed by Satan, as the above quote from Joseph Smith unequivocally states.

50 Reasons People Give for Believing in God

Guy Harrison has authored a book called  50 Reasons People Give for Believing in God.  In it, Harrison lists the things that people typically say to support their belief in deity and then asks provocative questions about the reasons given, and discusses the answers rationally.  I haven't read the book, but thought it would be fun to provide my own one-line commentary on each of the 50 reasons given.  So here goes:

1. My god is obvious. Not to me.

2. Almost everybody on Earth is religious. So? At times in world history, almost everyone believed the earth to be flat.

3. Faith is a good thing. Faith is neutral. It is good or bad depending on the object on which it rests.

4. Archaeological discoveries prove that my god exists. I call BS. Show me one.

5. Only my god can make me feel significant. Says a lot about you, not so much about god.

6. Atheism is just another religion. Only if you define religion so broadly as to have it lose all meaning.

7. Evolution is bad. Non sequitur.

8. Our world is too beautiful to be an accident. Seen any pictures out of Sudan lately?

9. My god created the universe. Well, if you say so...

10. Believing in my god makes me happy. That's nice.

11. Better safe than sorry. How safe is it, really? Are you sure you picked the right one out of the millions of gods out there to choose from?

12. A sacred book proves my god is real. Which book? Which god? Apply this to others who claim the same.

13. Divine justice proves my god is real. The lack of any evidence for such justice in the world tends toward the opposite conclusion.

14. My god answers prayers. All of them? If not, why not?

15. I would rather worship my god than the devil. False dichotomy.

16. My god heals sick people. But only some of them, right? So the suffering in the world is evidence that your god is a sadist, no? Why doesn't your god heal amputees?

17. Anything is better than being an atheist. Are you sure? Try it, you might like it.

18. My god made the human body. So you worship the Earth?

19. My god sacrificed his only son for me. Sounds like your god is a sick sonofabitch. If I killed my son and said I did it for you, what would you think of me?

20. Atheists are jerks who think they know everything. Some of them. But what do you call someone who overgeneralizes about a whole class of people?

21. I don't lose anything by believing in my god. Just your freedom.

22. I didn't come from a monkey. Who said you did, you moron?

23. I don't want to go to hell. Don't worry, you won't.

24. I feel my god when I pray. Quit putting your hand down your pants when you kneel.

25. I need my god to protect me. From your fellow believers, no doubt.

26. I want eternal life. Be careful what you wish for. See, e.g., the Highlander series.

27. Without my god we would have no sense of right and wrong. You need a book and preacher to tell you that murder is wrong? Really?

28. My god makes me feel like I am part of something bigger than myself. So does rooting for your favorite college football team.

29. My religion makes more sense than all the others. With all due respect, that's not a very high hurdle.

30. My god changes lives. For better or worse?

31. Intelligent design proves my god is real. I agree--your god is about as authentic as the science behind intelligent design.

32. Millions of people can't be wrong about my religion. Whatever your religion, millions more don't believe it than do.

33. Miracles prove my god is real. Is David Blaine god? Criss Angel?

34. Religion is beautiful. If you think Afghani schoolgirls with disfigured faces from having acid thrown at them because they were getting an education is beautiful, then sure, it's gorgeous.

35. Some very smart people believe in my god. Some very smart people drank the Kool-Aid in Jonestown.

36. Ancient prophecies prove my god exists. Name one.

37. No one has ever disproved the existence of my god. No one has ever disproved the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, either.

38. People have gone to heaven and returned. People claim to have been abducted by aliens? Do you believe them?

39. Religion brings people together. Yes, it's working out so well for India and Pakistan. Or the Palestinians and Israel.

40. My god inspires people. To do what? Strap bombs to their chests?

41. Science can't explain everything. Give it time.

42. Society would fall apart without religion. Because it's doing so well with religion, right?

43. My religion is so old, it must be true. So what was the basis for believing it when it was new and competing with older religions?

44. Someone I trust told me that my god is real. Someone I trust once told me to buy Enron stock.

45. Atheism is a negative and empty philosophy. Why so negative? Don't you have anything positive to offer?

46. Believing in a god doesn't hurt anyone. Ever heard of Brenda and Erica Lafferty?

47. The earth is perfectly tuned to support life. Duh. If it weren't, we wouldn't be here.
 
48. Believing is natural so my god must be real. If I believe in unicorns, are they real?

49. The end is near. Only if religious people get their way.

50. I am afraid of not believing. Finally, the real root of religious belief--fear.

A Voice of Reason: Pat Condell

Update: Here is the latest video from Pat Condell. Spot on, once again, he is on the dangers of Islam:

I've recently discovered (hat tip to my friend Todd Ormsbee) a YouTube sensation named Pat Condell.  Pat is a British stand-up comedian with a rapier wit who articulates better than anyone I have heard or read precisely what my views are concerning God and religion these days.  Pat speaks on a variety of issues but reserves his sharpest critiques for fundamentalist Christianity, radical Islam, and the spineless "multiculturalists" who allow these insidious benighted forces to thrive in what ought to be an age of reason and enlightenment.  Here are some of my favorite videos from Pat, including his latest called "Take Your God and Shove Him":

Lawsuits Filed Against LDS Church and Members

Jennifer Centers, the daughter of prominent Latter-day Saint television executive Bruce Christensen, has filed two lawsuits in Colorado. One is a state-court action against  her former husband and several church members from her local congregation, and the other is a federal-court action against the LDS church, Christensen, and LDS apostle M. Russell Ballard, among others.

The state complaint alleges that, following her estrangement from her husband, members of her ward conducted a four-month orchestrated campaign of harassment, terror, extortion, and interference in the child custody proceedings that accompanied Centers' divorce.  Centers alleges that when she left the church and her husband in June 2006, LDS church member Kathryn Balley "was appalled" and began sending emails that included "threats of jail and commitment to a mental institution." Centers alleges that Balley conspired with other  LDS church members to  blackmail Centers and her long-time friend Chris Runyan into  "'repenting of their sins,' paying money, giving up custody of their children, and so forth." 

There are many gaps in the factual narrative that I would be interested in seeing filled in.  Centers and Runyan are proceeding pro se, which means they were apparently unable to get an attorney to take their case on a contingent fee basis.  This raises a big red flag for me on their ability to back up their allegations and prove them in a court of law.  While the complaint is not as polished as what one would expect from an accomplished attorney, it is pretty good for a pro se pleading.  I would like a little more background on the relationship of the parties.  Reading between the lines, it appears that Jennifer Centers and Chris Runyan became involved at some point, and that served as at least partial motivation for the actions of their ex-spouses.  But the narrative is sketchy on the nature of Chris and Jennifer's relationship.  There is also a bizarre sub-plot in the narrative concerning some sort of right-wing militia-type with whom they were previously associated.  It's not clear why he got involved or exactly what the history is between him and Jennifer and Chris.  I reserve judgment on the credibility of their allegations.  But I find them interesting nonetheless.  One of their state-law causes of action is for "Ethnic Intimidation" and is based on a Colorado statute that provides "it is the right of every person, regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, or national origin, to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, harassment, and physical harm caused by the activities of individuals and groups." See C.R.S. 18-9-121.  I've never read any cases on the tort of "ethnic intimidation" so it would be interesting to see this go all the way to verdict.  You can download the state complaint by clicking on the following link:
Download centers_state_complaint.pdf

The federal complaint is also interesting, but the narrative contains even less factual information and is a somewhat confusing read.  Centers alleges that in 1991 as a student at Brigham Young University, she began to remember "events of abuse from her childhood."  She received therapy from church clergy in her student ward.  It isn't clear, but is implied, that her alleged abuser was her father Bruce Christensen, who has apparently been the President of KSL, the broadcast TV network owned by the LDS church.  Christensen previously was the President of PBS and Dean of BYU's College of Fine Arts and Communications, as well as a reporter for KSL.  According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on December 28, 2007, Jennifer Centers told her uncle, who worked for the Boy Scouts of America, about the alleged abuse.  Her uncle notified the Boy Scouts in Arlington, Virginia, where Bruce Christensen was apparently serving in a Scout leadership position in his local ward, and the Boy Scouts contacted the local ward and demanded that Christensen be reassigned out of the Scouting program. 

According to the complaint, in contrast to the swift action taken by the Boy Scouts of America, after Jennifer told her dad about her "memories of abuse," Christensen "contacted high officials in the Mormon Church including Apostle Dallin Oaks and Apostle Ballard who took action helping Bruce Christensen 'fix the problem.'"  Jennifer alleges that Elder Ballard and other church leaders failed to follow church policies and procedures and failed to comply with statutory requirements regarding the reporting of abuse, and that they improperly shared privileged communications and interfered with her child custody action.  Centers alleges that church officials, including Elder Ballard, provided "information, encouragement, and support" to the people she alleges were blackmailing, harassing, and intimidating her and Chris Runyan.  Centers also alleges that despite their repeated demands to be left alone, church officials continue to "harass" her and Chris Runyan. 

Though the federal complaint was also filed pro se  (I can't figure out why, if they have a strong case, they couldn't find a plaintiffs' attorney to take their case on contingency--there are a number of lawyers who are making a living suing churches on similar charges) and accordingly has a somewhat amateurish tone (e.g., "The defendants conspired on at least two different occasions!"), cutting through the salacious details I see a couple of perhaps legitimate causes of action.  First is the allegation regarding the dissemination of privileged communications.  The privilege in a clergy-penitent relationship runs to the parishioner, not the clergy.  That is, it exists for the protection of the parishioner and is to be held inviolate with few exceptions.  It does not exist for the protection of the clergy or the institution he serves.  This is a principle that more than one LDS Bishop has at times forgotten.   So that allegation interests me.  Second is the allegation that the church failed to follow its own policies and procedures and violated state abuse-reporting laws.

Finally, again, I am intrigued by the "ethnic intimidation" charge.  Centers alleges that a church leader, seeing them in attendance at a meeting, gave a spontaneous sermon, looked them in the eye and said that sinners and apostates "would be trampled under the feet of the righteous."  Can church leaders be found liable for ethnic intimidation for preaching their religious views from the pulpit?  This has First Amendment implications, which I always find interesting.

The federal complaint can be downloaded by clicking on the following:
Download centers_federal_complaint_redacted.pdf
The federal case has been referred to a magistrate for a scheduling conference in March. 

I don't know whether the allegations in these complaints are true or not. Obviously, the defendants, including Elder Ballard and the Church, have a right to respond to the allegations and have their side of the case heard in court.  I don't know personally any of the individuals involved and am withholding judgment until a lot more information comes out.  I'll keep the readers of Equality Time posted as the case unfolds. 

Centers and Runyan have their own blog, from which I pulled the individual pages of the state-law complaint and posted here as a single file.  If you want to ask questions directly of the plaintiffs, please leave a comment on their blog.  Because of the sensitive nature of this post, I have closed comments.  I don't want anyone who comments here to get themselves (or this blog) into legal hot water with an off-hand comment.  Thanks.

What I Want for My Son

Last week, I posted on What I Want for My Daughters.  This week I post on What I Want for My Son.

I want my son to know that he is loved no matter what he believes about God, Jesus, Joseph Smith, or the LDS Church.  I want him to know that I respect his intelligence and his freedom to think for himself and to choose for himself, and that his parents' love for him is not conditioned on his believing in or practicing any particular religion, going on a mission, being straight, or marrying in the temple. 

I want my son to grow up with the ability to analyze facts, assess evidence, and critically evaluate arguments he reads or hears.  I want him to feel free to choose an educational and career path that fits his interests and talents, and not to feel pressured to go to a specific college or enter a certain professional field.  I want him to possess a thirst for knowledge and a zeal for discovering truth, wherever it might be found and wherever it might lead. 

Mormon Stories #77-83: Paul Toscano

I've just finished listening to my friend John Dehlin's latest podcasts with Paul Toscano, one of the illustrious (or notorious, depending on one's perspective) September Six, having been excommunicated in September 1993 for having ideas that Boyd K. Packer disagreed with.  I have listened to nearly all of John's podcasts at both Mormon Stories and Mormon Matters, and I think this is his best interview yet.  Toscano had my laugh tears flowing in episodes 4 and 5.  I found myself cheering when he said (I paraphrase) that he would put his body count of destroyed testimonies against Boyd Packer's any day.  I found myself once again distressed and distraught at the treatment he and his family received at the hands of church authorities at every level.  His only "sin" was thinking, believing, and speaking ideas not understood or believed by those in positions of authority in the LDS Church.  Many people have commented that the LDS Church used to be more fun and exciting than today's staid, correlated cookie-cutter church.  Part of the reason is that the church has given the boot to folks like the Toscanos.  While I don't think I ever shared either Paul's or Margaret's understanding of Mormon theology, I would have loved to have had people like them in my ward--people who are passionate about studying the scriptures and exploring the ramifications of the doctrines Joseph Smith taught.  I am not really sure what Boyd Packer feared from the Toscanos.  I think the church would be enriched by having a diversity of thought and opinion freely expressed.  I like Paul Toscano's vision of the church as a family, where the ordinances are what make the church unique, and people are free to explore, discuss, and disagree--even with the apostles--on matters of faith and doctrine.

I post the YouTube versions of these podcasts here for your convenience.  Both audio and video versions are also available from the Mormon Stories web site or by subscription from iTunes.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did and will comment freely.  Mormon Stories regulates comments from non-believers, disaffected members, and former Mormons.  Equality Time is the place to comment if you want to say anything that would not be appropriate for Sunday School.

Recommended Site of the Week: Religion Facts

This week's recommended site I stumbled upon recently.  It's a huge site dedicated to giving "just the facts" about the world's many religions (or at least the most popular ones).  It's called Religion Facts.

Some have asked me: "If you think Mormonism is not a good fit for you any longer, what would you replace it with?"  I'm still on that journey of self-discovery myself and sites like Religion Facts I find useful in giving some direction to that search.  Right now, I lean toward Unitarian Universalism.  I like its openness, lack of dogma, and the healthy attitudes I think it transmits to children.  Whether it remains a viable long-term solution for me, I do not know.  But it appeals both to my mind and my heart right now.  I hope you enjoy this week's recommended site.

What I Want for My Daughters

When I concluded that the LDS Church was not what it claimed to be and not what I had once thought it was, I experienced a range of emotions: deep sadness, humiliation, and an existential despair punctuated by periods of relief, hope, and exhilaration, to name a few.   But in shedding a world view that had informed my every thought and action, I struggled to get my bearings.  Mormonism, for all its faults, does provide a framework and structure for "raising up children in the way that they should go."  It provides a road map for the lives of our children, literally from the time of birth well into adulthood.  Mormon children are blessed as infants, baptized at eight, given countless activities and programs and checklists with clearly identified objectives, indoctrinated every school day for four years in high school, and encouraged to look forward to missions, church colleges, and marriage in the temple.  It's all scripted, and Mormon parents need only "plug-and-play" the resources provided by the church to raise their children with the beliefs and values church leaders consider most important.   Upon realizing that Mormonism's foundational truth claims are bogus, I wondered whether the "goodness" of Mormonism was more important than my sense of its "untruthiness."  I pondered whether, despite my dismissal of the church's truth claims, the church's values and its substantial resources for instilling those values nonetheless provided a reasonable basis for raising my children in the church.  I thought about what the church teaches kids about themselves, the world around them, and their own potential.  And I thought about what I want my kids, especially my daughters, to internalize.  I could not help but conclude that . . .

Recommended Site of the Week: Images of the Restoration

With all the great resources out there for people who are engaged in religious studies generally and Mormon studies in particular, I thought I would start a new recurring feature here at Equality Time to help people find the best blogs and web sites out there on the "Internets" that deal with these subjects.  For the inaugural post in what I intend to be a regular series, I feature a newly created blog by a talented artist (who, it seems, at this point wants to remain anonymous).  The blog is called Images of the Restoration.  The  author/artist of this blog has created a number of compelling depictions of events from Mormon history--events that Mormon apologists, studious members of the LDS Church who venture outside the correlated materials, and critics of the LDS Church alike are aware of but which are seldom if ever mentioned or depicted in official LDS Church lesson materials. 
Mormon apologists sometimes argue that the LDS Church, as an institution, does not whitewash or cover up its history, and that blame for artwork in church manuals, etc. that is not historically accurate should be laid at the feet of the artists and not the church that uses their work.   Critics disagree, and sometimes point to the way the translation of the Book of Mormon is most often portrayed in church-approved and distributed print and visual media.   For example, the following pictures are probably familiar to most members of the LDS Church: